Children of War
by Silver Fox
Summary: Each of the Reikei Tantei members, including Yukina, encountered something strange. For some reason, they remember nothing of their sighting. Forces were brewing. No one knew what was going on. Their only hope was that one girl would remember her urgent m
1. The Beginning

**Author: Silver Fox  
Email: Foxneko@aol.com  
Disclaimers: I don't own YYH. I only own the chars I made up. Try to steal my chars and I shall hunt you down and smash you with my giant Writer's Block! Bwhahahaha!!!  
Notes: _italics_ are thoughts**

...er...what can I say about this fic? Nothing really 'cept maybe that I probably won't update this for a while. I'm working on my WK fic at the time...and my muse refuses to work with me.

L'il dragon muse: _::snorts and ignores his untalented accomplice::_

You don't have to be so mean about it!

_And the little girl ran. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, hair flapping wildly in the wind. Fear clutched her heart ever since she found out. Someone had found IT. Only a shard, yes, but within that shard held unimaginable power. That someone would go after the other shards too, and IT would be put back together. And it was only a matter of time before **she** would be hunted down also..._

~ ~ ~

Hiei ran his fiery red eyes carefully over the village. At least, what was left of the village. Glowing embers and crumbling rocks were the only things left of the once occupied houses. The place was barren of any life form except the rats that gnawed at the few remains of those who weren't lucky enough to get away. The small demon sensed a tiny trickle of youki, probably only one-tenth the amount used to level this village.

He removed the band that hid his jagan, scanning atop the nearly dead pine tree for any survivors, although the thought of anyone living through such an attack was unlikely. He growled, thinking of other things he'd rather be doing. But Mukuro had been awfully stubborn about him checking it out, even though the small village had been on the very edge of her third of Makai. Even though he was on leave.

Hiei suddenly stopped his train of thought as something caught his attention. It was in the farthest corner of the devastation, almost completely covered by a pile of rubble. He leaped down and bounded over to it. At first, it looked like another dead youkai. But the demon frowned. After probing a little, he felt a tiny glimmer of life, but there was no youki. In fact, the body looked like a...ningen.

_How can a ningen be here in Makai, and much less survive? _Hiei blasted the pile off the human, making sure not to injure the person. It was a female, about as tall as he was. Dry mud and blood caked her hair and face. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and fresh blood was soaking into it.

Hiei picked up the little girl and dashed off to the nearest portal. He needed to get her to Kurama. Then he could find out how in the two worlds did a ningen cross and get to Makai. For a second, he considered telling Mukuro he was leaving, but brushed that thought away. _I **am** on leave..._

~ ~ ~

Kurama sighed with boredom. The day was pretty slow, and he thought he would go stir crazy. Most of all, he couldn't get his mind off a certain short-tempered fire demon._ I wonder how Hiei's doing... What am I thinking? He's training at Mukuro's. Probably to busy training to even consider visiting._ Unbidden images of a shirtless sweaty Hiei practicing filled his mind, and Kurama decided it was time to go, before his youko urges got a hold of him. He got up, nodded a farewell to the guard, and left the office. A wave of humidity slammed into him as he opened the door and stepped out into the hot summer day. He started walking home, occasionally wiping the sweat from his forehead. _Huh...Hiei wouldn't mind this weather...there I go again. Okay Kurama, he's in Makai, not here..._Something dropped on his head, causing him to stop. Another drop fell on his hand. It was a drop of water. _Rain?_ Kurama looked up, but saw no storm clouds. He gazed back down as another drop fell on the cement. A whoosh in the air made him whip his head toward the sky, his red hair flying into his face. He caught a glimpse of something with wings flitting across the cloudless sky. After blinking repeatedly, Kurama looked back at the droplet on his hand. But it wasn't there anymore. The wet spot on the sidewalk was gone too. 

_The heat must finally be getting to me. _He shrugged the incident off as a figment of his imagination, although doubt still lingered. The redhead did a quick scan for youki, but found none. Satisfied, he continued home. 

~ ~ ~

Yusuke paused to take a breath from pushing ramen all day. He ran his eyes around the room, briefly looking at the customers.

"Itai!" He clutched his head as Keiko smacked him upright behind the temple.

"Baka!" She scolded in a whisper, careful not to draw attention to them. "Standing around when there's work to be done."

As Yusuke rubbed the sore spot, he saw a girl staring at him. He blushed slightly, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. She had the most peculiar silver eyes and straight white hair, although her face told him she was too young to be a granny. Yusuke blushed even more as she seemed to have seen the whole scenario. Her eyes flickered briefly toward the retreating Keiko, then back to him. A knowing smile crossed her lips. Yusuke blinked, and she was gone.

_Huh, I wonder why I was staring at an empty table... Guess I was daydreaming again..._ Yusuke dropped the subject and went back to pushing his cart of ramen.

~ ~ ~

Yukina happily hummed to herself as she watered the garden. Her pail was empty, so she took it to the waterfall near the temple to refill it. A deep fog rolled in as she walked on the path. The ice maiden enjoyed the coolness on her skin from the hot weather. She reached the lake and bent down to dip the pail in. Suddenly, she fell back in a yelp, sending the pail flying.

Instead of seeing her own reflection, Yukina saw someone else. It had feathery dark blue hair and sapphire blue eyes.

Yukina cautiously looked over the edge again, but she saw her own familiar reflection staring back. She laughed quietly as she retrieved the pail from where it landed. The ice maiden filled the pail and started back for the temple, convinced that what she saw was a trick of the eyes, and thought no more of the incident.

~ ~ ~

Kuwahara looked thoroughly at all the assortment of flowers. Most were wilted in the midsummer heat. Others were too small or not pretty enough. And the ones that were still fresh were too expensive. He sighed in frustration. _Now I'll never find the perfect bouquet for Yukina!_ He stood there and stared at the flower shack, so deep in his thoughts that he barely noticed the customer standing next to him.

_Huh?_ He watched as the man ran his thumb and forefinger over a petal on a sagging bunch of snapdragons. Brilliant color crawled back into the flowers and the stalks straightened.

Kuwahara gawked in amazement, as the bouquet looked new and freshly cut. He quickly purchased the bunch and rushed off toward Genkai's. He could only think of his lovely Yukina, forgetting everything about the mysterious man.

~ Silver Fox ~ 


	2. Silent Gathering

**Author: Silver Fox  
Email: Foxneko@aol.com  
Disclaimers: YYH is not mine. Do. Not. Sue. Repeat...  
Notes: _italics_ are thoughts  
_[ italics ]_ are dream sequances**

Yay! I finally got around to working on this fic. Sorry, but you would not believe the size of the Writer's Block that plagues me. This chapter might be strange 'cause I have a cold. Feedback please!

L'il dragon muse: _::is being nice 'cause Silver Fox threatened to sneeze on him::_

Shhh!!

Kurama locked his door and threw the keys onto the table. He opened his fridge and took out a bottle of water.

"About time you got back."

Kurama spun around in surprise, his heart beating faster than normal. "Hiei! You're back!" 

"Hn, stupid fox. This is no time to play games."

Kurama looked questionably at the little demon, but Hiei was already in his bedroom. So he followed. The redhead almost dropped his water at the sight.

On his bed was a small body. He could barely tell it was a girl from all the blood clumping together. She was breathing in rugged gasps, and each breath caused the loss of more blood. Kurama briefly groaned as he saw his sheets were ruined but forced his mind back to the task at hand.

Without another word, he forced his reiki into the dying girl, slowly sealing her wounds. By the time he was done, he was exhausted. He landed on his knees and almost fell back, but Hiei supported him.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but nothing serious besides some deep cuts. With some rest, she'll live," He whispered, while enjoying the feeling of Hiei's strong arms holding him.

"Thanks." He said when the fire demon handed him his water, and took a deep drink. "Where did you find her, anyway?"

Hiei felt his temperature go up when he caught Kurama. He couldn't help noticing that the redhead felt so right in his arms. Strands of red hair were tickling his nose as Hiei inhaled the fox's scent: a slight smell of sweat mixed with roses. A strange urge to run his hand through the red mane rose in him, but he dismissed that silly idea, trying to pay attention to what Kurama was saying.

"Where did you find her, anyway?"

"Makai."

"What?!" Kurama jumped up. Hiei felt a flicker of disappointment wash over him.

"Makai? But how...she's a..." 

"Ningen," Hiei finished for the shocked fox, "And a young one, from the looks of her." 

"So, Hiei..." Kurama changed the subject, "...why'd you come back? Weren't you training with Mukuro?"

"She put me on leave, then sent me to check out this village when she got reports that it was attacked," He scowled slightly, obviously irritated, "Then I found her, and thought I'd bring her here."

"Are you getting soft, Hiei?" Kurama teased.

Hiei shot the redhead a murderous glare. "Hn, it's not everyday you see a stupid ningen in Makai."

Kurama only smiled and nodded. Hiei was always captivated by the fox's smiles. There were times when he thought Kurama's best smiles were only for him, but he always shooed those thoughts away. _He smiles at everyone, damn it..._

He flitted to the window, which was always open, and stood there.

"I'll be back when she wakes up."

Then he was gone, the drapes fluttering from his fast movement. And he didn't look back, and didn't see the pair of emerald eyes that stared after him, even when he wasn't there anymore.

~ ~ ~

She could barely feel the youngest one's spirit. It was very weak, pulsing slowly. She didn't know who did it, but she was in trouble. The others had gathered. They knew about it too. It had been a long time since they were together. They had separated ever since that day...

But those days were past. They were free. The danger was gone.

Wasn't it?

~ ~ ~

_[ They were coming for her. Who? She didn't know. **Them.** They were gathering and would soon find her. She needed to wake up. She had to get up to...run? Would she run? She couldn't think. She was too weak. They were coming. Are they going to hurt her? Who are **they**? Why can't she remember? There was something she had to do. What was it? Did it involve **them**? She knew something. Something important...something to be feared...What was it?! ]_

~ ~ ~

Hiei didn't like what he was feeling. It was like warmth inside him, different from his fire. It confused him. Yet the warmth was familiar. Compassion? But how could that be? The only person he cared for was Yukina, and he would never be able to openly express his feeling to her.

Was it love? Love. Where did that come from? He was the Forbidden Child. He would never know true love. And he never expected to either.

So why did he yearn for it now?

Growling, Hiei bound for the temple. Seeing the bright smile on Yukina's face always made him forget such nonsense.

To his annoyance, Kuwahara was there. Scowling as he stood on the tree branch outside, Hiei's mood darkened. Kuwahara was a perfect example why he didn't need love. He did not want to become like that blundering fool. He did not want to become weak. How could Yukina fall for such an act?

Because she was innocent, while he was tainted. She knew it was hard to survive in Makai, and perhaps in Ningenkai, but she didn't know like he did. She knew nothing of the dangers of battle.

And Hiei would keep it that way.

~ Silver Fox ~ 


End file.
